Pokemon Omega Ruby And Omega Sapphire Adventure
by 4fireking
Summary: Brendon moved from Johto and becomes a Pokemon Trainer. May is already a Pokemon trainer who hates Brendon for making her lose a chance to catch a Pokemon and thus has become his rival. Their adventures extend all the way from their first gym leader to a battle in the galaxy. ( co-author Lyra Sprinkles).
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.

 **As I included in my summary the co-author for this story is Lyra Sprinkles. She wrote more then me on this story but I asked if I could post this story before posting it. We plan on making it about twenty chapters going through the whole Omega Ruby and Omega Sapphire walkthrough. Thanks for reading this.**

* * *

 **Brandon's POV**

We were not poor enough to not afford a moving van. Before me and my mom had to move to a house surrounded by trees we had neighbors moving into a house without a moving truck. Those two we never welcomed to the neighborhood.

I've never been good at making friends. Human friends, I mean. Pokémon were okay, but getting to know people took too much time and effort. So when Mom decided to send me over to welcome the neighbors, I immediately declined. It's not like I wanted to get to know them. If she wanted to make friends with them, she should just go there herself.

" Brendon, I am not taking any of that attitude. I raked leaves for five hours before we left so the least you can do is help me with something important."

"Ugh. FINE." Slamming the door loudly behind me, I made my way outside. Riding in that moving van had given me a headache, anyway, and I needed some fresh air.

I walked over to the house next door, just like Mom had asked me to. She hadn't said who lived there or what I was supposed to say to them, so I began practicing in my head. "My name is Brendan," I murmured to myself. Raising my hand, I knocked on the door loudly. "I just moved here from Johto. I - "

The door opened, and a woman with short hair blinked at me curiously.

" Hello there young boy. I have lentil soup if you want some."

My mother also likes making lentil soup. That was something they could talk about for hours.

"I'm Brendan," I announced, bowing. I had a feeling that this woman would get along well with my mother. "My mom and I just moved here from Johto. I'm twelve years old, and I - "

"Twelve?" The woman's eyes bulged out of her skull. "That's great! We have a daughter around the same age as you! May should be outside, I think. Why don't you go look for her?"

Um, no thank you, I wanted to say. I didn't want to meet YOU, much less your daughter. But of course, I couldn't say anything. I nodded and quietly walked out of the house.

Now, if only she had given me some idea as to where this "May" was other than, "she's outside."

I looked around the village until I spotted a path of grass. Chances were she went through that path of grass so I walked through it as I tried staying away from any part that could make a wild Pokemon attack me. Wouldn't I know it I saw a girl with a bandana on her head.

She was kinda pretty, I guess. She had brown hair and blue eyes and was wearing a red training outfit. Suddenly I understood why my mom wanted me to meet the neighbors and why May's mom wanted me to meet her daughter. I facepalmed.

Mothers, ladies and gentlemen. The ultimate shippers.

Well, whatever. I just wanted to get this over with. I walked over to her and stared.

The girl was squatting on the ground, her hand held out. A small Zigzagoon was watching her from the grass.

"Come on," she whispered gently. "I won't hurt you."

I wasn't in the mood to watch her make friends with this Pokémon, so I decided to make my presence known.

"Yo," I said loudly.

Before she even turned her head the Zigzagoon scattered away from her. What a horrible mistake I did right there. The girl stared up and glared at me. I didn't know what to say. Was I supposed to apologize?

"I'm so-"

"You idiot!" she yelled.

"I said I'm so-"

"You scared away that Pokémon! I was trying to catch it!"

"Again, I-"

"Alright, you're going down! I challenge you to a Pokémon battle!"

"But I don't have any-"

May reached for a Pokéball on her belt and pulled it out with a flourish. "Go!"

What appeared was a small blue Pokemon with small black eyes and a weird mouth. I never saw a Pokemon like it before.

"Wow! What kind of Pokémon is that?" I knelt down to the Pokémon's level. "I've never seen anything like it in Johto!"

"That's my Mudkip," May said proudly. "My dad gave it to me. Now, release your Pokémon so we can begin our battle!"

"Um," I shrugged. "If you had let me finish speaking earlier, you would've known that I don't have any Pokémon yet."

I tried to pet the Mudkip, but it bit my hand with it's weird mouth instead.

"You don't even have a Pokémon?" May sneered. "What a loser!"

What she just said mad me angry. Before I knew it I yelled back at her.

" I'm not a loser! I will get my own Pokemon and do better with it then you did with yours!"

"Yeah, right," she scoffed. "Tell you what, though: my dad's a Pokémon professor. Why don't you ask him to give you a Pokémon, and then battle me? I'm sure I can beat you either way though."

"Oh, it's on!" I shook my fist in her face. Who did that girl think she was, anyway? Just wait until she got her ass handed to her by me!

"My name is May," she said, holding out her hand "You better remember it, because I'm going to be the next Champion!"

"Oh yeah? Well I'm Brendan, and I'm gonna kick your ass before that happens!"

We shook hands. May was now officially my rival.

 **4fireking here again. Thank you Lyra Sprinkles for helping me write this chapter. The next chapter will have May's POV instead of Brandon's.**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.

 **Glad to be able to continue writing with Lyra Sprinkles. On the other hand someone has made a shipping rumor that I'm in a relationship with another author whose name I will keep hidden, but if the person who made that shipping thing is reading it we are not romantically involved so please delete that message.**

* * *

 **May's POV** **'s**

I watched Brendan the Loser make his way towards Dad's lab. My father was Professor Birch, the greatest Pokémon professor in Hoenn. He had thought me everything I knew about Pokémon and had even given me my first Pokémon, a Mudkip.

I chuckled to myself as the kid came out empty handed. He didn't know that Dad was out on Route 101,doing fieldwork. If Brendan really wanted a Pokémon that badly, he would just have to go out in the grass and look for him.

Suddenly, a loud scream interrupted my thoughts. I rushed to that scream. Whatever happened I would bring the fury to the bad people like the jerks who ask Pokémon vets " If you love Pokémon so much why should I pay you?"

The scream had come from the tall grass. When I arrived there, I saw Dad being chased by a Poochyena. He looked terrified and was running around in circles like a crazy person.

I was about to release Mudkip to take down the Pokémon. But before I could do anything, guess who got there before me?

That's right. Brendan the Loser appeared out of nowhere and yelled, "I'll save you, old man!"

My temper rose. "Old man?" My dad wasn't a day above forty, thank you very much.

"My bag!" Dad panted, stopping to catch his breath. "There are some Poké Balls!"

I can't touch those Poké Balls. One Poké Ball can be given to one trainer who needs a starter Pokémon and I already have mine. It was frustrating to say Brendan had his hands on a Poké Ball.

With a nod, Brendan gripped the Poké Ball he had chosen tightly and released it. It was an adorable Torchic, which gave a loud cry as it jumped before the Poochyena.

"Ember!" Brendan roared, pointing at the Poochyena. As I watched Torchic take the Poochyena down, I couldn't help but be impressed. Brendan wasn't a bad trainer, that's for sure.

He just needed to be shown who's boss.

After saving my dad I walked up him and tapped his shoulder to get his attention.

" After my dad makes you an official Pokémon trainer come find me at the grove just north of here and we'll have a Pokémon battle."

"Huh?" Brendan blinked at me stupidly, but didn't respond.

I snorted and walked away. Once I had battled and defeated him, he would finally realize just who he was messing with.

I trained in the tall grass as I waited for Brendan to show up. He finally appeared, grinning as he held his Torchic in his arms.

"Yo," he nodded at me.

" I take it the journey to my fathers' lab has left you with the impression you can win all your battles? Well you can't. I May on the other hand can beat anyone."

"We'll see about that," he replied. "Ready to battle?"

"Always," I said. I immediately released my Pokémon. "Mudkip, go!"

"Go, Torchic!" Brendan cried.

" Mudkip use Water Gun!" I commanded my water friend.

Mudkip fired a long shot of water at Torchic.

I couldn't help smiling as I heard Torchic cry out in pain. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not a sadist. But there was something extremely satisfying about seeing Brendan looked worried.

"Torchic, use Ember!" he commanded. To my horror, Torchic shot out little flames that took down Mudkip's HP by a significant amount.

"No way!" I gasped. "A critical hit?"

Well even newbie's can land a critical hit once in a while. It wasn't like it was too spectacular or anything.

Mudkip's HP was now in the red. I began to panic. How did that loser land a critical hit with a type-resistant move? This was so unfair! "Mudkip, use Tackle!" I commanded.

Mudkip lowered its head to hit Torchic. But for some reason, Brendan's Torchic moved first.

"Ember!" Brendan commanded again. The flames licked Mudkip's body, causing him to collapse on the grass.

"No!" I cried, kneeling down to cradle Mudkip in my arms.

I wouldn't let go of Mudkip until I could see it open its eyes and hearing it whimper he was fine. To my relief, Mudkip's eyes fluttered open. It whimpered at me tiredly.

"Thank god," I breathed. "Mudkip, you did great. Rest up now." I detained it back inside its Poké Ball.

"You jerk," I yelled. I stood up and shook my finger at Brendan. "How could you do something like that to poor Mudkip?"

"Um," Brendan rolled his eyes. "That's kinda what happens to Pokémon after you battle them. They faint. Have you never had a Pokémon battle before?"

I bristled with anger. I could slap him right now if he didn't catch how I have ever little experience. Tears began forming in my eyes.

"Well, whatever," I huffed. "Just take your stupid reward and get lost."

I was about to walk away from there when I got a call from Dad.

"May?" he asked. "Brendan said that he was going to battle you. Where are you two right now?"

"Up north," I replied. "What's going on, Dad?"

"I'll explain later," he said. "Come to the lab. Get Brendan with you." He hung up.

Well, that was...weird.

Thanks to my help me and Brendan were in my Dad's lab in no time.

"Dad, we're here!" I panted, pushing open the door to the lab. "What happened?"

"Hey kids!" Dad said happily, waving us over. "Brendan, I heard you beat May on your first try! Congratulations!"

"HOW DID YOU FIND OUT?" I screamed.

"I can already tell that you're going to be a great trainer," he continued ignoring me. "Which brings me back to this."

He placed a device in Brendan's hands. "I'd like you to have a Pokédex."

"A Pokédex?" Brendan repeated. God, was he stupid.

Brendan turned the Pokédex on and the first thing to show up was a picture of Torchic and information about the ember spewing chicken.

"Oh, this is cool!" he exclaimed, playing with the buttons. "So it records information on all the Pokémon I have?"

"Something like that," Dad replied. "I can see that you have great potential, so I'd like you to catch all the Pokémon in the region and fill up the Pokédex. It will help me out with my research."

"Done!" Brendan said in excitement. "This is the best day ever! First I get a Pokémon, then I beat May, and now I have a Pokédex!"

I was this close to slapping him. What stopped me was how laughable it was he could actually catch every Pokémon in Hoenn. He had a better chance winning the lottery then doing that.

"I should go tell my mom," Brendan murmured. "Now I can finally prove that I'm better than my dad!"

This caught my attention. "Huh? Who is your dad?"

He gasped, as though he'd just let out a secret. "N - Nothing! I didn't say anything!" With that, he raced out of the room without so much as a thank you.

"May," Dad said, turning to face me. "You're going to leave on your journey too, right?"

"Yes, Dad," I replied. "I'm going to collect all the badges and become Champion soon! You're gonna be so proud of me!"

Dad laughed. "That's my girl." He ruffled my hair. "You should go get ready."

I nodded and walked out of the lab. My journey to become Champion was just beginning.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon

 **I realize I misspelled Brendon's name in the first two chapters. Luckily my coauthor Lyra Sprinkles pointed that out to me. The problem is I would rather finish the story before fixing the mistakes unless my coauthor says I should do it now.**

* * *

 **Brendon's POV**

I couldn't slip out my father was the fifth gym leader Norman. The last thing I needed was May and her father comparing me to my dad. Just like people had been doing all my life.

Speaking of which, I was now in Petalburg City, on my way to see him.

I pushed open the door to the gym, my heart pounding wildly.

There he was. He was my father Norman and he was with a frail looking green haired boy.

"Ah, Brendan!" Dad walked up to me. At first I thought he was going to give me a hug, but he simply reached forward and slapped me on the back. "I'm surprised you managed to get here by yourself! How's the move coming along?"

"Great," I replied, trying not to roll my eyes. Of course my father didn't think that I could walk a few miles to get to this city. That was so like him.

I glanced at the boy next to him. He looked too sick to be challenging a gym. "I got a Pokémon and a Pokédex," I added.

"Not bad," Dad nodded. I could tell that he was impressed, even if he didn't sound like it. "Professor Birch must have seen something in you. Anyway, I'm glad you showed up. This is Wally."

Wally waved his hand at me and I waved back to the sick looking boy.

"Wally doesn't have a Pokémon yet, but he wants one." Dad explained. "Since you have your own Pokémon, you should go with Wally and make sure he catches one properly."

I sighed softly. What was up with my parents making me talk to strangers?

"Fine," I replied. I headed for the door. "Come on, Wally."

Wally followed me outside probably intimidated by me or just very shy but wanting a Pokémon he followed me anyways. We walked in silence for a while. I wasn't in the mood to speak, and he was too shy to say anything.

Finally, he spoke up. "Um...there's tall grass there...Pokémon hide in tall grass, don't they?"

I shrugged.

"Please stay here and make sure I catch one properly!"

Before I could say anything, Wally ran into the tall grass and released the Zizagoon Dad had given him. He sure didn't like to listen to people that were trying to help him. Before I could help him a wild Ralts jumped out prepared to fight him.

I couldn't help feeling a little jealous. I had spent a good amount of time training in that patch of grass before arriving in Petalburg, and I hadn't encountered a Ralts even once.

I watched as he lowered the Ralt's HP and quickly threw a Poké Ball at it. Not bad for his first time.

It was his first attempt catching a Pokémon and after his Pokéball binges he officially had his first Pokémon. I wonder if I can also catch my first Pokémon with flying colors.

"You did really well," I said, giving him a small smile. "You know. For someone who's so - uh - sick."

"Oh," he looked at the ground. "Well, I've been sick for most of my life, so I spend a lot of time indoors. I've seen plenty of people catch Pokémon on TV. So I kind of knew what to do."

I don't think it was television that helped him catch Ralts. It was most likely his hidden skills.

"I think you've got some talent there," I smiled. Wally wasn't a bad guy. He was pretty cool, compared to SOME people I know. "We should battle sometime. When you've trained your Ralts some more."

"Really?" his eyes shone. "That sounds awesome!"

Deep down I also thought it was awesome but I tried to keep my cool.

"Sure, why not?" I shrugged. "I've been battling brats lately, and you seem nice."

"Brats?" Wally frowned.

"Yeah. There's this girl who -" I stopped myself just in time, and shook my head. "Never mind."

"What girl?" he asked.

I sighed. Why did I keep talking about her?

I decided to tell him about May.

" She's someone who is kind of selfish and vengeful only because she lost her chance at capturing a Pokémon and blames me for that. I beat her in a battle and I'm certain she will go after me for that."

"She...doesn't seem very nice," Wally said sadly.

I could only roll my eyes at this. How sheltered was this boy? "Yeah, you think?"

"Yes," he replied, ignoring the sarcasm in my voice. "She's being really mean to you."

I shook my head. We were walking back to the gym, and Wally was holding his new Ralts proudly in his arms. "It doesn't matter. She thinks she's going to be the next Champion, and I'm gonna show her by taking her down."

" If I have the chance I'll try to be the next champion too. First I will have to grow so me and Ralts can get strong."

Well, Wally was a lot nicer than other Champion-aspirants I knew. He didn't brag about his skills (which I assumed he had) and he seemed determined to do well despite his obvious difficulties. I shook his hand firmly at the entrance to the gym.

"I'll be moving to Vedanturf soon," he said. "I'm going to live with my aunt and uncle. You should come visit sometime."

" I will. Although it would have to be after I get my first gym badge. I'll say hi and if it's not too much trouble some soup with lentil's in it please."

He laughed. "Yeah, sure. Thank you so much for helping me, Brendan. I know you had better things to do, and you probably already knew how to catch Pokémon without watching me to do it. But it meant a lot to me that you came."

"No problem," I nodded. "I'll see you around then?"

"Yeah," Wally replied. I watched him enter the gym to return the Zigzagoon.

So I had more competition in my fight for the title of Champion. Well, I wasn't going to back down that easily. May and Wally, watch out. Torchic and I are gonna kick your asses!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon

 **This chapter is a bit longer then the last one and it skips parts of Brendan's journey you probably wanted to see but me and my coauthor agreed we would try to make this story only twenty chapters. Thank you for following us this far.**

* * *

 **May's POV**

"Taillow, Taillow, Taillow," I muttered to myself, pushing aside yet another patch of grass with a Wurmple in it. I had been looking for a Taillow for an hour now, and had yet to find one.

The Petalburg Woods were thick and wide. It was difficult to walk through it without coming across yet another Bug Pokémon. I really wanted a Taillow, which I would train into a strong Swellow and take my revenge on my lovely neighbor. But so far, luck was NOT on my side.

As I made my way to the next patch of grass, I heard a voice. It was a man, muttering away to himself. I looked up and saw a scientist (he was dressed in a white lab coat) ahead. He had thick glasses and was looking around for a Pokémon.

I just stood there and stared at him. I wanted to ask him what his deal was, but he was kinda creeping me out. Before I could do anything else, he spotted me and made his way up to me.

"Hello," he said, smiling to reveal a crooked set of teeth. "Have you seen any Pokémon called Shroomish around here?"

I don't think I even knew what a Shroomiah was. Before I could tell him that a man with a blue bandana and blue striped shirt appeared.

He looked like a pirate, minus the whole eyepatch and skull thing. Well, I wasn't one to judge. A lot of people are into anime and cosplay and stuff, so he was probably dressed like someone from that pirate show.

But then he opened his mouth and proved me wrong. "I was going to ambush you, but you had to dawdle in Petalburg Woods forever, didn't you?" he told the scientist. "I got sick of waiting, so here I am!"

Ambush? What the hell?

" Poochyena, come out of your PokéBall so you can make the scientist give us what we want."

The pirate guy looked like trouble. What was the scientist up to? What was he thinking, associating himself with creeps like that? And what did the pirate want with him, anyway?

"You! Devon researcher! Hand over those papers!"

I wasn't one to idly sit around and watch the pirate guy attack this poor, harmless guy. It was my duty as the daughter of one to protect all scientists from devastation.

The man laughed loudly. "No one who crosses Team Aqua gets any mercy, not even a kid! Come on and battle me!"

Team Aqua was probably the name of his pirate crew. Without a second thought, I released Mudkip.

"Mudkip, Water Gun!" I commanded. Thankfully, Mudkip moved first and the Poochyena was hit with a blast of water.

The man ordered Poochyena to Bite Mudkip again.. Oh no. No on my watch. "Mudkip, Water Gun again, go!"

Within minutes, the battle was over. "Grrr!" The pirate reject growled, returning his Pokémon back inside its ball. "You've got some nerve, messing with Team Aqua! Come battle me again -" he stopped suddenly, "is what I would be saying, but I'm all out of Pokémon. Anyway, I'm after something in Rustboro. I'll let you go for today." He quickly disappeared into the woods.

The scientist was happy I saved him from that pirate. He shook my hands really fast. I couldn't even see my hands by how fast he was shaking them.

"My papers are saved...thanks to you," he said, sighing with relief. "Here. You can have this ask my thanks."

He handed me a small device. I recognized it immediately - it was an Exp. Share. My Dad would sometimes bring them over to the lab and study them. I was never allowed to touch it, but I had always wondered what it would be like to use one. "Thanks!" I replied happily.

I nodded. If people like that Team Aqua guy were causing problems like this, I needed to make sure the scientist and everyone else were safe.

"Ah! Didn't that thug say he was after something in Rustboro? I need to get going!" He quickly ran out of the woods.

I first needed to catch a new Pokemon. It was almost making me jeer how I only had Mudkip.

Hours later, I entered Rustboro City, covered in sweat and dirt. I hadn't been able to find the Pokémon I wanted, but I did catch a Shroomish, which was pretty cool. I was about to make my way to the Pokémon Center, when I came across - guess who?

Yep. That's right. Mr. "Pokémon-faint-when-they-are-defeated" just got out of the Pokémon Mart and was staring at me. And before I knew it, I was making a beeline for him.

" I'm going to challenge the Rustboro City Gym. I can make time to challenge you to a battle."

To my disappointment, Brendan shook his head.

"Uh. No. Don't get me wrong, I'd gladly kick your ass a second time, but I can't right now. I'm on my way to challenge the Gym Leader to a battle."

My mouth fell open. Gym Leader? Brendan was going to battle Roxanne? But...surely he couldn't be strong enough to beat her yet, right? I mean, he just started his journey!

I smirked at him. "I was going to give you some pointers during the battle to help you with the Gym Leader, but if you're so arrogant as to battle her without help, then go ahead. I can't wait to see you get knocked down."

(For the record, I had no intention of helping him.)

Brendan just rolled his eyes and walked away. Things were going to get a lot more fun.

And thus I began my wait to watch Brendan get the floor wiped with him. To kill time, I explored Rustboro City. It had been a while since I had last been here, and the city had gotten a lot bigger since then. I visited the Trainer's School, the Cutter's house and the Devon Corporation (where I wasn't allowed in DESPITE being the person who saved them from Team Aqua). I know I should have been preparing for my upcoming match against Roxanne, but I was too excited about seeing Brendan finally lose that I couldn't train.

I stalked the Gym for a while, waiting to see if Brendan would come out soon. A considerable amount of time had passed since he had been there, which was not a good sign. It meant that he was doing well. Which was bad. Real bad.

Finally, he emerged out of the Gym door, looking extremely tired. I quickly made my way to him. Hopefully, Roxanne had thought him a good enough lesson to keep his ego down for a while. But that's when I saw it: the shiny, brown badge glinting on his chest.

Nothing I said now would not make me look like an idiot since he won but...he actually won a badge? Well maybe I could ask how many Pokémon he used so I could beat him with less Pokémon.

"Wipe that smirk off your face," I snapped. "And don't wear your badge on your clothes. People might challenge you, thinking you're actually strong."

He grinned at me, the same stupid smirk still plastered on his face. "This coming from the girl without a badge?"

I took a moment this time to think about what I was going to say before saying it. " I am challenged by people who think I will be the next Pokémon Champion."

Brendan pulled at his ear, pretending like he couldn't hear me. "Hmm? What's that? I couldn't hear you over the sound of MY NEW BADGE being all shiny and awesome."

Oh god. I totally wanted to punch the lights out of him right there, but I kept my temper in check. The last thing I needed was a lecture from my dad for assaulting this stupid punk.

Just then, a man in a familiar blue and white pirate costume zipped past us. "Out of the way! Move it!" He pushed a Trainer aside and ran out of the city.

He was rude and something about him made me think he was trying to escape from someone. Turns out he was when a man in a brown suit wearing an English brown hat chased him...moving a little too slow.

"Wait!" cried the man in the brown suit. "Please! Don't take those parts!"

I bristled with anger. Looks like Team Aqua were harassing Devon Corp again. Not if I could help it they weren't.

Without a second thought, I followed the man to the edge of the city.

I saw him run into a cave. He was trying to hide, jokes on him because people in this town know that cave has a wall blocking people from leaving it except where they came in by. I smiled to myself. I had him cornered now. Time to finish what started in Petalburg Woods.

An old man standing outside the cave stopped me before I entered. "Peeko!" he moaned loudly, grabbing me by the shoulders and shaking me. "They took my darling Peeko! Those thugs!"

Carefully, I peeled the man's arms off me. Team Aqua just loved to cause trouble everywhere they went, didn't they? "I'll get Peeko back for you," I promised, even though I had no idea who or what Peeko was.

I was barely inside the cave and I spotted the pirate with a Wingull held by the pirates black finger gloves. I approached the man slowly, careful not to frighten the Wingull. That was probably Peeko.

"What?" the pirate dude threatened me. "Are you coming? Come and get some, then!"

I growled. "You better not be sexually harassing me, mister."

"Grah, keelhaul it all!" he cried, releasing yet another - you guessed it - Poochyena at me.

"Come on, Shroomish!" I cried, releasing my newly caught Pokémon. Shroomish appeared before me with a loud wail. "Stun Spore!"

Within seconds, the little Poochyena was paralyzed on the ground.

Leech Seed slowly begin to sap away at the Pokémon's HP. I was so proud of my little Shroomish. It was doing so well, with minimal training. It would do just fine against Roxanne.

If only Brendan could see me now.

"Finish it off with Tackle!" I commanded. With a loud cry, Shroomish slammed into the Poochyena, knocking it unconscious.

" No!" The pirate returned his Pokemon into his Pokéball. He then showed me he was in rage. " Team Aqua will get you for this!"

He shoved the parts in my hand and left the scared little Wingull there and ran past me.

What a loser. What were these thugs thinking, messing around like that? I'm glad I showed them.

I picked up Peeko and made my way to the exit. The old man was waiting there. He jumped in delight when he saw Peeko. "Oh! My darling Peeko! I missed you so much!"

It was touching seeing this old man reunite with his Pokémon. Thank goodness he only kept one of them or I'd be looking much longer for Wingull's.

"Thank you, child," he smiled at me. "These criminals...they said they were called Team Aqua, weren't they? You defeated one of them, but I'm sure there are many of them still out there. And they will all be stronger than the grunt you fought."

I nodded at him. His name was Mr Briney, and he was a sailor who lived outside Petalburg City. He invited me to sail on his boat if I ever needed to go anywhere. I thanked him and made my way back to Rustboro.

I had no doubt that Team Aqua was a criminal organization, and they would do just about anything to achieve their goals. I had already seen them steal from Devon Corp and hold Pokémon hostage. And sure, I had defeated them twice, but I still wasn't strong enough to take them down yet - I didn't even have my first badge!

I decided, right then, that I would get stronger. I would collect all the Gym Badges, become Champion, and defeat Team Aqua - before Brendan. I was going to show him, once and for all, who the real champ was!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon

 **The chapters seem to get longer the more Lyra Sprinkles and I write. I enjoy this story and I'm happy Lyra Sprinkles put so much effort into writing with me. Thank you creator of Pokemon if your reading for being a bug collector who used that passion of yours to make a cool game.**

* * *

 **Brendan's POV  
**

It was thanks to Wingull's help that I defeated Roxanne.

I had caught Wingull just outside Rustboro, since I figured that a fire-type like Torchic wasn't going to be much help against a Rock-type Gym. Wingull had proved to be a huge asset, and had single-handedly taken down Roxanne's Nosepass. And now, I had a beautiful new badge to brag about to May.

My Pokémon and I were now in Dewford Town, where we would be challenging the next Gym Leader. Since it was a Fighting-type Gym, I was training my Wingull to win this one for me too.

" Show me that beautiful move Wing Attack." I said.

Wingull hit the Tentacool hard, causing it to faint. I grinned to myself. I was lucky to have such strong Pokémon by my side. We were ready to take on Brawly.

First I healed them in the Pokémon Center. Nurse Joy knew from the look on my face I was going to battle Brawley.

"Ready, Combusken?" I whispered.

Yeah, that's right. My Torchic was now a Combusken, and it was just as badass as ever. And the best part was that it was now part Fighting-type. May was gonna be so jealous when she saw it.

Combusken gave a war cry and struck a fighting pose. I laughed, and put it back in it Poké Ball. With a deep breath, I entered the Gym, which was pitch-black.

According to the person greeting me at the entrance the gym would lit up the more trainers I defeated.

Defeating the Gym Trainers wasn't very difficult. They either used Machop, Meditite or a combination of both, and my Wingull and Combusken took them down easily. Now all that was left was the Gym Leader.

I quickly healed up my Pokémon and walked towards him. Brawly was a buffed-up surfer with long blue hair and blue eyes. He watched as I walked up to him, a small smile on his face.

" Your the first trainer to challenge me today. Are you ready?"

"You bet I am!" I replied. Even though I was confident in my abilities, Brawly had these exercise machines surrounding him that kind of intimidated me. Not to mention, he was stretching and flexing like we were about to get into a wrestling match.

" Here goes. Go Machop show them what hard earned muscle looks like."

"Wingull, go!" I cried, releasing my Wingull, I definitely had the type advantage, which was a bonus for me.

"Bulk Up!" Brawly ordered his Machop to increase its stats. But it wasn't going to work, because my Wingull was going to finish him before it could land a single blow.

"Wing Attack!" I commanded. Wingull moved faster than Machop, and hit it first. The attack did a significant amount of damage to Mchop, who barely scratched Wingull.

" Don't let him do that to you again Machop. Use Karate Chop."

Karate Chop hit Wingull, lowering its HP. "Wingull, come one!" I tried my best to cheer it on.

Wingull flapped its wings up to show it was still capable of fighting Machop.

I knew that Wingull was strong enough to take down Machop. "Wing Attack, again!" I ordered. Wingull obeyed and hit Machop hard, causing it to faint.

" That's a powerful Pokémon," Brawley complimented. " Too bad now you have to face Makuhita."

"I'm confident that Wingull can take anything you dish out!" I bragged. Brawly snorted and released Makuhita, a bulky yellow Fighting-type.

I guess I spoke too soon, because as soon as Makuhita's first attack - Arm Thrust - hit Wingull, it fainted.

It was up to Combuskin to defeat Brawley's last Pokémon.

"Combusken. Win this for me." With a silent prayer, I released my last Pokémon.

Combusken screeched loudly and punched the air. Brawly looked impressed.

"A Combusken, huh?" he said. "Good pick. Fighting-types are the best, am I right?"

"You know it!" I grinned. It was all down to this - his last Pokémon vs. mine. "Let's kick things off, shall we? Combusken, Flame Charge!"

Combusken's claws burned with fire before that fire engulfed it and it moved like a cannonball on fire towards Makuhita.

"Arm Thrust!" Brawly cried. Makuhita tried its best to defend against the attack, but Combusken was simply to fast for it. It was on fire before it could attack back.

Combusken's speed rose, and Arm Thrust barely scratched it. "Flame Charge, again!"

Makuhita was hit again, and its HP was critically low. "Damn it!" Brawly gritted his teeth.

" Time to finish this battle. Combusken use Fire Spin."

"Makuhita, Arm Thrust!" Brawly cried desperately, but it was too late. Combusken hit Makuhita before it could move a muscle. The bulky Pokémon fell to the ground with a loud thud.

"Yeah! We did it, Combusken!" I reached forward to hug my Pokémon. Combusken was tired, but happy. I was so proud of it.

Brawley wasn't able to keep his cool after losing to Brendan. He fell to the floor, his palms flat on the wood. "How...how could I lose?" he whispered. "My Makuhita...it's my strongest Pokémon..."

I didn't know Gym Leaders could take losing in their gym so bad.

Brawly stood up. He looked frazzled, but there was that look in his eyes that said that he was impressed with what he saw. "Congratulations on beating me," he held out his hand, which I shook. "It's not everyday it happens, but hey. You've earned the Knuckle Badge."

With a smile, he placed the blue fist-shaped badge into my palm. I could only stare. My second badge...I had come so far from that kid in the moving truck.

"Thank you," I replied, pinning it on my clothes. I thought of May's distraught face when she found out that I'd beaten another Gym before her, and I smirked.

I had to get moving fast if I wanted to get to the third gym leader before May reached this island.

"Oh, and you can have this too," Brawly handed me a CD-like device.

I knew what it was. It was a TM, or Technical Machine. I had collected a few on my journey, and knew that they could be used to teach Pokémon new moves. "That's the TM for Bulk Up."

"Thanks, Brawly," I replied, putting the TM in my bag. Gym Leaders sure were generous.

"You're pretty strong for a kid your age," he said. "You're gonna go far, kid. I can already tell. By the way, have you heard of Granite Cave?"

"No?" I replied. "Why?"

"It's a cave located to the north," he explained. "It's full of rare rocks and stuff. You should check it out while you're here. You might meet some interesting people."

Three things given to me in only one day. It must be my lucky day.

I said goodbye to Brawly and made my way out of the Gym. For some reason, I expected to see May there again, taunting me because I was more awesome than her, but she wasn't there.

I wonder where she was. I hadn't seen her since we caught up in Rustboro City. What could she be doing?

Not that I cared, of course.

After healing my Pokémon at the Pokémon Center, I made my way to the north of town. I had decided to take Brawly's advice and visit Granite Cave. Maybe I might find the next member of my team there, who knows?

I had to find some way to reach the minimum six Pokémon if I was going to be champion.

The moment I stepped into the cave, I was swarmed by Zubat. I tried my best to fend them off, but they kept annoying me with every step I took. I kicked myself for not carrying any Repel with me.

I made my way deeper into the cave. A friendly hiker had given me the TM for Flash. He had advised me to teach it to one of my Pokémon, as it got pretty dark further ahead. But I didn't do so, because none of my Pokémon could learn the move. I decided to just wing it and go ahead.

When I got to a pretty interior section of the cave, I came across an older boy in a fancy purple suit and pointy blue hair. He was studying some weird cave paintings on the wall.

I couldn't help myself. I had to walk to that guy and talk to him.

The boy was studying a large mural of a giant dinosaur-like Pokémon fighting a whale-like creature. I stood next to him and studied the mural, too.

"Hmm," he said softly. I couldn't tell if he was talking to me or himself. "So in the ancient world, their primal forms had this much power?"

"I don't know," I replied, assuming he was talking to me.

He wasn't, he in fact didn't know I was standing there until I started talking.

This was evident by the way he jumped up suddenly. "Gah! You scared me! When did you get here?"

"Just now," I replied. "I wasn't spying on you or anything, dude, I literally just got here. Thought the painting looked interesting so I wanted to see it too."

"I see," he replied.

He was in an awkward moment between me and him now.

"Well?" he said finally.

I stared at him. "Well, what?"

"Well, you said the mural was interesting. What do you think?" he asked.

"Um," I looked back at the painting. The sight of those two powerful Pokémon fighting each other was scary, but most of all it made me sad. "It's creepy. And are those Pokémon really that big?"

The boy nodded as if he understood. "What terrible strength," he commented. "But their appearance...it doesn't seem like Mega Evolution."

He turned around and studied me. "What's you name?" he asked.

" My name is Brendan. What is your name?"

He held out his hand. "My name is Steven Stone." We shook hands, and I tried to pull away, but he didn't.

"Don't you have a letter for me?" he asked.

"What?" I replied. "A letter? What are you talking about?"

Steven frowned. "I'm sorry. I don't know why, but I thought you were going to give me a letter."

He turned his attention back to the mural. "Brendan," he said. "Do you feel anything in particular when you look up at this wall?"

I didn't really know if I felt anything particular so I decided to look closer.

"It's strange," I said, after studying the mural for a while. "I don't understand it. Why were they fighting? Did these Pokémon exist in the past?"

Steven nodded. "A primal world, lost thousands of years in the past," he said, sounding sad. "The legendary Pokémon became the world's greatest threat. You can see the terror they caused in this artwork..."

"Huh," I replied. "So...these are legendary Pokémon?"

It was impressive and at the same time spooky. Maybe I would want to meet these Pokémon in the future but not until I raised my own Pokémon to be a challenge for them.

"Who knows?" I said, out loud. "Maybe one day I'll meet these Pokémon and even catch them."

Steven shot me a look.

"Not until I'm strong enough, of course," I added.

He laughed. "I can see that you're an ambitious one. I like that." He picked up his backpack, which he had set down beside him. Rummaging through it, he pulled out a TM.

"I'd like you to have this," he said, handing it to me. "It's a TM for my favorite move, Steel Wing. Consider it as a gift - from one Champion to another."

" Awesome! Thank you very much Steven. I have a flying Pokémon named Wingull and I'm sure it will love this move."

"Good choice," Steven remarked. "I can tell that you've got a strong team of Pokémon. You'll do well, no doubt. Who knows, maybe one day you'll even beat the Champion!"

I laughed. "Yep, that's what I'm training for!"

"I should go now," Steven turned to leave. "But I will definitely see you again, Brendan."

I watched as Steven left the cave. First Brawly, now Steven - everyone could tell that I was a strong trainer. I would do well and not let any of them down. Like Steven said, I might even beat the Pokémon League Champion. And maybe someday, I'd finally surpass my dad.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon

 **I'm very tired because this is the hardest day I worked at my minimum wage job but thankfully I managed to post this chapter. This is thanks to Lyra Sprinkles that I finished this chapter because we still write together. Thank you.**

* * *

 **May's POV  
**

Slateport City.

I was finally here, and I was tired and hungry. It had been a long journey from Dewford, but thanks to Mr Briney's boat, at least it was free. I was now looking for Captain Stern, to whom I had to deliver the Devon Goods.

I trudged tiredly through the city. A quick stop at the Pokémon Center had given me some information - Capt. Stern usually hung out at the Shipyard, which he owned. However, on my way there, I noticed something strange.

Team Aqua was here. Again. They were all lined up outside the Oceanic Museum. However, Team Aqua could wait. I was tired of running into them everywhere I went. True, they did provide me with some training and a chance to kick their butts repeatedly, but I wanted to deliver the goods first.

I made it to the warehouse and delivered the goods to the person who needed them. However, I soon found out that Capt. Stern was in the museum. Which meant that I would have to drive out those Team Aqua thugs from there if I wanted to find him. With a sigh, I made my way to the museum.

Surprisingly, the Aqua goons had already vanished from the scene when I got there. I was confused. Did they get what they wanted?

On entering the museum, however, I realized I was wrong. The pirates were all over the places, acting like tourists. If they were trying to be in disguise they should change those hideous outfits they wear.

So tacky.

I paid the receptionist P50 and walked into the first room.

"Hey!" One grunt walked up to me and poked me in the shoulder.

"Ow, what the hell?" I cried, shooting a glare in his direction. Wait, he looked familiar. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

"Are you kidding me?" He said incredulously. "You kicked my ass before, remember? Here, I'll give you this." He handed me a TM for Thief. "Just leave the boss alone, alright?"

"Gee, thanks," I replied. Once the TM was safely secured in my bag, I said, "No chance. Your boss is going down. See ya."

Ignoring his curses, I made my way upstairs to the second floor.

I could see an old man in the corner of the second floor room, being threatened by yet another pirate guy. But he wasn't dressed like the others: he had on a blue bandanna instead of a black one, and wore a blue coat thingy that bared his chest. Yeesh. The man had a serious chest hair problem going on.

Not to mention, he was extremely intimidating. He looked like he wanted to rip my head off.

I was pretty sure that the old man was Capt Stern. I tried to keep my cool and approached the pair slowly.

" My name is May and I don't approve of you Team Aqua members taking over this museum." I said.

The man laughed. He laughed as though I was doing a stand-up routine before him. He laughed like it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard.

"Hey!" He said, digging his elbow into the stomach of the Team Aqua grunt flanking him. "Didja hear that? Little Missy here doesn't 'approve' of us taking over this museum! Watcha gonna do about it, set your dollies on us?"

I gritted my teeth and resisted the urge to deck him in the schnoz. I didn't know his name, and I had met him barely a minute ago, but he was already on my hatelist.

"No," I said slowly, trying to suppress my anger. "I'm going to beat you. In a Pokémon battle."

The man doubled over and laughed again.

"You're gonna beat me, Aqua Leader Archie? A.K.A. the boss of Team Aqua? The most feared pirate to ever set sail? With THAT?" He asked incredulously.

Aqua Idiot Archie was this close to officially piss me off. "Yeah," I replied, crossing my arms over my chest. "If you're so confident that you can beat me, why don't you put your money where your mouth is and battle my Shroomish?"

He smiled, and jabbed one of the grunts in the side. "She's fierce. I like her." He nodded at me. "I won't battle you today. Instead, I'm gonna do you a favor. I want you to join Team Aqua. We sure could use strong Trainers like you on our side."

I stuck out my tongue and gave him a raspberry. That defiant action told him all he needed to know.

"That's a no, then?" Archie asked.

"You're damn right it's a no!" I growled. "You must be an idiot to think I'd ever join the likes of you!"

"I see," he said. "I hope you realize you're making a mistake, missy. Team Aqua is committed to protecting the sea and the Pokémon who live in it! Do you know that all people, Pokémon and all life in the world depend on the sea for life?"

" We already have people in this world who protect sea and oceans."

Archie turned away and stared off into the distance. I had a feeling he was about to launch into a long, impassioned speech.

"The sea is an irreplaceable treasure for every living thing on this planet," he said slowly. "But with our selfish extravagance, humanity dirties the ocean, destroying this great source of life...our most precious resource. If we humans suffer from our actions, maybe we'll end up getting what we deserve. But what about the Pokémon in our world? The Pokémon that no longer have a place to live because we stole and soiled their seas? The Pokémon that won't have a place to raise their young and watch them grow?"

Yep. I was right. Long, impassioned speech.

As much as I hated to admit it, he was making some really good points. It was true. People WERE treating the sea like crap. Every year there were reports of Pokémon dying because of polluted seas and harmful human activities. I knew this because my dad was an expert on Pokémon habitats, and I sometimes accompanied him on field trips to the ocean. I knew how bad the situation was.

But even though I agreed with him (to some extent, at least) there was something...off about this guy. What was that about "humans getting what they deserved"? Was he some sort of eco-terrorist?

"You're crazy," I replied, shaking my head.

Archie ignored me. "We are creating a world in which innocent Pokémon suffer as the result of our actions...and that is something I can't forgive!"

I was just about to turn around and walk out of the place (with Capt. Stern, of course) when he said something that made my blood run cold.

"That's why I came to a decision," he continued. "The foolish actions of my fellow humans, the seas we have blighted, nature itself - I WILL return everything to its unspoiled beginnings!"

I tried not to let that statement scare me. It was clear that Archie was going to do something very, very bad, all in the name of the sea. I had to stop him and Team Aqua before they could carry out their dangerous plan.

"You," he said, fixing his gaze on me. "What's your name, little scamp?"

I debated on whether I should tell him my real name or not. "May," I said finally. "Remember my name, because I'm going to be the girl who takes you - and the rest of Team Aqua - down!"

Archie didn't seem to react to what I just said, only looked at me in a new light.

"I see," he smirked. I could tell that he was trying not to roll his eyes. "Well, May, I'm disappointed that you chose not to join us. But the offer's still open if you're interested. Also, I'm letting you go this time. Get in my way again and you won't walk away unscathed next time."

He nodded at the grunts and the three of them walked off, leaving me and Capt Stern behind.

"Thank you, May," Capt Stern said softly as I handed him the parts. "Thanks to you, we can now set out on our ocean floor expedition! I will always be grateful to you. You come to the Shipyard whenever you need anything, alright?"

I nodded, watching him walk out of the museum. Devon and the parts didn't seem important anymore in the wake of everything I'd learnt.

I had a lot to think about. I contained Shroomish back in its Poké Ball and made my way out of the building. There were no Team Aqua grunts around anymore, something which I was thankful for.

I could feel that Archie was really angry, with the way he spoke about humans and the sea. But what did he mean when he said that he would return everything back to its beginnings?

I had a feeling that he had said big in mind, something on the apocalyptic level. If that was true, all of us...everyone in Hoenn...were in grave danger.

Team Aqua had to be stopped at all costs.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon

 **This is the chapter that helps Brendan join May's battle at stopping Team Aqua but also gives you another battle between them much better than their first one. Thank you Lyra Sprinkles for coauthoring with me on this chapter.**

* * *

 **Brendan's POV**

I experienced a double battle between two trainers with Plusle and Miniun. I used Combusken and Wingull against them and thanks to Flame Charge we won.

I had also been to the Trick House, and had completed the Trick Master's challenge. Needless to say, I was extremely pleased with myself right now. I had two badges, and was well on my way on getting my third one. My Pokédex was filling up nicely, too. I had caught quite a few Pokémon, though only a select few would be on my team. Professor Birch and mom were both proud of me.

Nothing could get my spirits down. Nothing except for - well, her.

Speak of the devil. May was standing in the grass up ahead, staring at the sea. She caught my eye and scowled. I could see that she was making her way here and immediately facepalmed. What a way to ruin a great day.

" Didn't expect to see you here, but while you are here how about we have a Pokémon battle?"

"Why?" I replied snarkily. "Did you forget how it felt to have your ass kicked last time?"

May rolled her eyes. "Just battle me before I change my mind."

Surprised by May's inability to make a comeback,I shrugged. Without another word, I released my Mawile. I had caught it on my way out of Granite Cave, shortly after my meeting with Steven. It was now a loyal member of my team.

May narrowed her eyes at it. She quickly pulled out her Pokédex and read up on Mawile.

Most foes underestimate Mawile as a pretty Pokémon until they see the giant appendage in their backs that look like scary monsters.

"Wait," I said suddenly. "You've never seen a Mawile before? Where have you been, living under a rock?"

She gritted her teeth. "For your information, I have been involved in stuff far more dangerous than you'll ever dream of. So stop being an ass."

Now what did she mean by that?

"Marshtomp, go!" She released her starter, which had finally evolved.

Combusken wouldn't have the strength to stop its evolved form with stronger water moves while the only thing my fire moves could do were small damage.

" Mawile, use Attract."

Mawile blew a flying kiss at Marshtomp, whose fierce expression was soon replaced with a lovestruck one. May smacked her forehead angrily, while she tried to plan her next move.

Something was wrong. Even though I had battled her only once - and won - I knew that May was a strong Trainer, and not one to waste time during battles like this.

"So, uh," I said, thinking of a way to broach the subject. "When you said 'dangerous stuff', what did you mean by that? I assume that you weren't just talking about Pokémon Contests."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, nothing," she said. "Just an evil eco-terrorist group that worships the sea trying to destroy Hoenn. No biggie."

" Okay. Back to the battle, Mawile use Crunch."

"Marshtomp, Mud Bomb!" May said quickly. Marshtomp moved before Mawile, and quickly shot out an explosion of mud that lowered Mawile's Health Points significantly.

Crap. I had forgotten that Marshtomp was part Ground-type, and Ground was super-effective against rock.

"I mean," May said loudly, interrupting my thoughts, "Team Aqua only plans to punish everyone for dirtying the sea by maybe killing them all. Nothing for small fry like you to be worried about."

Wait, what?

"What are you talking about?" I asked, as I tried to think of my next move.

" I mean you got lucky to make it this far in your quest but your only a footnote on how to be a small trainer."

Ouch.

"Don't forget that I'm still stronger than you'll ever be," I growled. "I got both the Gym Badges before you. Not to mention that I've beat your ass once, and I'm about to beat it again." With renewed vigor, I yelled, "Mawile! Fairy Wind!"

"Mud Bomb!" May yelled at the same time. Unfortunately, Mud Bomb was super-effective, and Mawile promptly fainted.

I gritted my teeth, expecting to hear a snippy remark about my skills. When nothing came, I stared at May. She stared back angrily.

Something was different about her. She wasn't being as catty as she usually was, and seemed more interested in battling than taunting me. I mean, it was a welcome change, but it seemed so odd.

"Wingull, go!" I released my next Pokémon, still wondering why she was being so weird. Wingull gave a loud cry and circled around us.

"Wing Attack!" I yelled. Wingull obeyed and hit Marshtomp hard.

"Wait, what's this about Team Aqua?" I said suddenly.

" Their heartless pirates who want to rule over the ocean or some nonsense like that and it's up to me to stop them."

"You?" I asked, blinking in confusion. Marshtomp had fainted with another Wing Attack, and May had released her Shroomish. "Why you?"

"Um, because you're too busy wandering around Hoenn with your head in your ass?" May replied, pretending to shrug innocently. "Because everyone else in Hoenn is too busy being helpless and behaving like frickin' NPCs? Because I seem to be the only person who recognizes that Team Aqua is a threat?"

"May..." I whispered. Anger came over me. Shroomish had used Mega Drain, which, when combined with Leech Seed, sucked away a good amount of Wingull's HP. I quickly ordered Wingull to use Wing Attack again.

"Well, if I knew that a villainous group was targeting the region, I would've already beaten their asses by now!" I yelled. "I bet the only reason they're still around is because you're too weak to take them on!"

" I took down plenty of their members. Their just a very hard organization and they have ways of getting away from me."

"Those just sound like excuses to me!" I yelled. "I've been traveling around the region, catching Pokémon, collecting badges, filling up the Pokédex...I haven't been sitting around on my ass you know. If I had known -"

"But you DID know, Brendan," May interrupted. Her Marshtomp had kicked my Wingull's ass - hard - so I returned it and sent out my last Pokémon, Combusken. "You were there when Team Aqua stole that Devon guy's stuff. And you did nothing."

"I -" I couldn't argue with that one. She was right. When the scientist ran past us, crying about his goods, I had stood there, while May had rushed to help him. "I didn't know..."

"Ignorance is not an excuse," she said quietly. Combusken had burnt Shroomish out of the battle with Flame Charge, and it was not down to it and May's last Pokémon, Taillow.

" Combusken use Flame Charge on that Taillow. If it dodges remember to leap towards the sky and hit it hard."

"Taillow, Aerial Ace!" May yelled. Aerial Ace was super-effective against Combusken. However, Combusken hit back with Flame Charge. Due to it being several levels above Taillow, which I could tell wasn't trained yet, Taillow lost plenty of HP.

"You're right," I said, through gritted teeth. "It's true that I didn't fight against Team Aqua during the one time I saw them. But I promise you, now that I know that they exist, I will do everything in my power to take them down. And I'll do it before you."

May clicked her tongue in annoyance. "It's not a race," she said irritably. "Team Aqua is a serious, legitimate threat to Hoenn. It doesn't matter who takes them down - as long as they stay down."

I ordered Combusken to use Flame Charge again. With a final burst of power, Combusken hit Taillow again - hard - and the tiny bird collapsed on the ground.

May returned Taillow into it's Pokeball. " You did great." she said to the bird Pokémon.

"Anyway," she continued, turning towards me. "You win, I guess. Again. And you're right. I'm still not as strong as I should be to take down Team Aqua. But know this: I WILL get stronger, I WILL defeat them, and I WILL be Champion."

She tossed her Poké Ball in the air and caught it deftly, before walking away towards Slateport City.

I was happy that I had won against her yet again. But I was disturbed. I couldn't shake the feeling that I had failed. Was it because of Team Aqua?

I never even met them and yet they seemed to be showing themselves in my mind. This was enough to make a person mad.

May's taunts still rang through my mind. She was right. She was so right. I was too absorbed into my own world to notice all the problems Team Aqua was causing. And what made me even madder was that May of all people was fighting them.

This had to stop. I decided that I was actively going to seek out any evil group that tried to take over and kick their butts before they could even begin. I wasn't just some nobody to sit around and twiddle my thumbs while people or Pokémon were suffering. I had to do something. I had to get stronger.

If May thought that she was the only person who could take down the bad guys, she had another thought coming.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon

 **This chapter has three parts to it. Your going to see what those three parts are but know that two out of three of them have to do with Wally and his relationship with May. Thank you Lyra Sprinkles for helping me write this chapter.**

* * *

 **May's POV**

I decided to another check before my battle against the Mauville Gym.

Super Potions? Check. Revives? Check. Paralyze Heal (it WAS an Electric-type Gym, after all)? Check. Strong, well-balanced team? Well, Swellow would be at a type-disadvantage, but both Breloom and Marshtomp resisted electric attacks. Check.

I retied my bandanna and exited the Pokémon Center. Mauville Gym, here I come!

Hopefully this would be a gym battle Brendan didn't beat before me. I entered and saw a bunch of electrical fences with people, mostly musicians, standing near them.

When I walked to the Gym, however, I was surprised to find two people, a man and a boy with green hair, standing outside and blocking the entrance. They seemed to be arguing.

"Please, Uncle!" The boy begged, with his hands joined together. "Please let me challenge the Gym and show you how much stronger I've become!"

"Wally," the man said patiently. "I know you're strong, but don't you think challenging the Gym might be pushing it?"

Okay, this was ridiculous. They were blocking the entrance to the Gym because of their silly argument, and I needed to have my Gym battle NOW, before Brendan got here. I stepped forward to tell them off, but the green-haired boy, Wally, beat me to it.

"You!" he said, running forward to grasp my hand. "Please battle me! Let me show my uncle how strong I've become!"

" My name is May not You, but I accept your battle."

"Wait," Wally let go of my hand and studied me up and down. "You're May?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Yeah..."

"That May?" he asked.

"What other May is there?" I replied. Then I realized something and said, "Why, have you heard of me?"

"No!" he cried, shaking his head. "Nope! Not at all! I certainly haven't heard about you from Brendan and don't know anything about you being mean to him all the time!"

I rolled my eyes. "Right...well, do you want to battle or not?"

"I do!" he said. Then with a deep breath, he released his first Pokémon. "Go, Ralts!"

Marshtomp would be too strong for him and Breloom would be at a type advantage since Breloom's are also fighting types so I used Swellow.

"That's...that's a, um, really strong Pokémon," Wally said hesitantly. He closed his eyes and opened them, looking more determined than ever. "But so is my Ralts! We're going to beat you!"

From what I had gathered so far, Wally was friends with Brendan, who had apparently told him all about me. But I liked Wally. He didn't look very strong, but he seemed like a good kid who cared for his Pokémon very much.

"You talk big," I said, smirking. "But can your Ralts back it up? Swellow, Double Team!"

"Lucky Chant!" he cried. Lucky Chant shielded his team from critical hits, and using it on the first turn was a smart move. Apparently I had underestimated him.

" Aerial Ace!" Swellow moved at its fastest speed to deliver damage to Ralts.

"Did you see that, Uncle?" Wally said excitedly, turning to the man who had been watching our battle. "May is a very strong trainer! If I can beat her, it means I'm good enough to challenge the Gym!"

"Don't get too worked up, Wally," his uncle replied, looking worried. "Think about the Gym later. Try to focus on the battle now."

"Right!" Wally said. "Ralts, use Disarming Voice!"

Ralts echoed a sound that made Swellow flinch.

I gritted my teeth. The battle had been going on for a while, and Swellow had yet to do any kind of damage to Ralts. This was not good. It would be embarrassing for someone of my calibre to lose to someone like Wally.

Disarming Voice never missed, which meant that using Double Team was fruitless. My only option was to hit hard and fast. Luckily, Ralts's defense was low, so it wouldn't be too difficult.

"Aerial Ace!" I yelled again.

Swellow vanished from the battle but hadn't left. When Swellow appeared again Ralts was hit in that green helm. Wally and his uncle gasped in shock as Swellow hit Ralts hard, causing it to lose HP.

"Disarming Voice!" Wally cried again, but we both knew he was in a bind. From battling with him for a while, I had learnt that Ralts's only moves were Teleport, Disarming Voice, Lucky Chant and Magical Leaf. Disarming Voice was the only move that would damage Swellow moderately, but with Swellow's bulk, it would take a while to lower its HP.

The battle would be over before he knew it.

"Aerial Ace!" I commanded once again. It was a move that never missed, and it was working well for me so far.

" Ralts, try using magical leaf on Swellow."

And there it was. My chance to finish off this battle and prove to Wally I was much stronger than him or Brendan.

Wally had made a big mistake by using Magical Leaf. Swellow was a Flying-type, which meant that it was resistant to Grass-type attacks. The attack barely hit Swellow.

"Swellow! Let's finish this battle with one last Aerial Ace!" I ordered.

Was it me or did Swellow's last Aerial Ace shine brightly before Swellow hit Ralts. Ralts went down and we won the battle.

"We did it! Great work, Swellow!" I said happily, holding out my arm as a landing post for Swellow. Swellow landed on my arm and cooed happily. It leant forward for me to stroke its neck, which I was only too happy to oblige.

"Good job, Ralts. You did well," Wally returned his Pokémon back to its Poké Ball. I thought he would be sad that he lost, but he turned to me and smiled brightly. "You're so strong, May! I hope that Ralts and I can be as strong as you someday!"

"You wish, little boy," is what I wanted to say, but I kept my mouth shut. I didn't want to sound mean to someone who already thought I was. "You were pretty good too." I said instead.

After that Wally listened to his uncle and would wait until he was truly ready to challenge the gym leader.

"You're right, Uncle," Wally said. "I'm not ready to challenge the Gym yet. I'll train and get stronger, just like you said. But May's pretty great, isn't she? She's so strong! I'm going to be strong like May and Brendan someday!"

Hearing my name mentioned in the same sentence as Bren-dumb almost made me gag.

"Great? May is fantastic!" Wally's uncle said enthusiastically. He reached out to grasp both of my hands.

"Okay, this is completely normal and totally not creepy," I said under my breath.

"May, it's an honor to meet you," he continued. "You're a good trainer and you get along well with Wally. Would you consider going out with him sometime?"

"What?" I said loudly.

"Uncle, no!" Wally cried.

" Never mind. I just thought you two had a little moment when you battled." He said sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

"Moment? What are you talking about?" I asked. "I just met him. Literally."

"Well, yes, but," his uncle replied, stroking his chin. "You two look so good together! And you have so much chemistry!"

"Please excuse him," Wally said, sounding embarrassed. "You see, I don't get out much, and my uncle gets excited whenever I meet someone. I'm sorry."

"I guess this is my cue to leave," I said awkwardly. "Um, if you two don't mind moving, I'd like to enter the Gym, please."

" Be my guest," Wally said stepping to the side.

I was finally going to challenge my third gym leader.

"We should get going, Uncle," Wally said. "Ralts needs to rest before we begin training again. Good luck, May."

"Let's go, Wally," his uncle agreed. "Oh, and May? If you're ever in Vedanturf Town, please drop in. We'd love to have you for dinner. Just ask for Wanda's house."

Great. Now I had one more thing to dread, in addition to Team Aqua. I was so not looking forward to this.

"Sure," I said, with a fake smile plastered on my face. "I'll be there. Nice meeting you, Wally. You too, Mr Wally's Uncle. Take care of yourself."

When they were FINALLY GONE, I heaved a sigh of relief. I quickly healed Swellow and entered the Gym.

I ran into people who use electric types and an electric fence trying to make my journey to the gym leader like a puzzle.

Apparently I had to step on the switches on the floor to toggle the gates.

The Gym trainers weren't too hard. They all used either Magnemite, Electrike or Voltorb. Seriously, these people should think about mixing it up sometimes.

I defeated them all and finally approached the Gym Leader, Wattson. He was a huge, cheerful old man with a white beard.

Before I battled him though I had to heal my Pokémon because they all took some electrical attack in their battle.

"Alright, team. We can do this!" I whispered to my Pokémon. They were still inside their balls, but I knew they could hear me. "We're going to beat this old guy!" And we're going to do it before Brendan, I wanted to add.

When I had entered the Gym, I had noticed that Brendan's name wasn't on the list of certified trainers that was usually at the entrance. This meant that, for the first time, I was actually challenging a Gym before him. There was no way I could lose.

I had no idea why I was so obsessed with beating him. Maybe it was his stupid, smug face that kept pushing me whenever I trained. Maybe it was the fact that he was always one step ahead of me. Maybe I just had a problem.

Either way, he was going down. Eventually. First things first, I had to beat Wattson.

Wattson had his back turned to me. He was staring up at some big blue electric spark thingy. I waited patiently for him to notice me. When he didn't, I cleared my throat loudly.

" My name is May from Littleroot Town and I challenge the Gym Leader to a battle."

"What? Did you seriously get through all my rigged doors?" He screamed loudly, interrupting me.

"They weren't difficult," I replied, shrugging.

"Now that is amusing," he laughed. "Making traps and battling trainers like you is what I live for! I, Wattson, the Leader of Mauville Gym, shall electrify you!"

"Bring it on!" I replied. With a flourish I released my first Pokémon. "Breloom, go!"

"Go, Magnemite!" Wattson cried. He released the Magnet Pokémon, an Electric-Steel type, just like I'd expected him to.

" Breloom, hit his Magnemite with your Mach Punch."

Mach Punch was a priority move, and it hit Magnemite before it could move. Since it was super effective, it caused considerable damage to it. However, Magnemite immediately followed up with Thunder Wave, which paralyzed Breloom.

Oh man. Paralysis would slow down my Pokémon by 50%, and it might also cause them to miss some of their attacks. Now what do I do?

I would risk my new Pokémon being attacked so I commanded Breloom to use Mach Punch.

I figured that as long as Breloom spammed Mach Punch (which was pretty much the only Fighting-type move it knew), we had this. The second Mach Punch, luckily, also damaged Magnemite. Wattson gritted his teeth.

"Volt Switch," he ordered.

Oh no. I hated this move. Volt Switch meant that Magnemite would shock Breloom, before switching out for another Pokémon. And just as I was about to do some real damage too.

As expected, Magnemite returned to Wattson after attacking and was replaced by Voltorb.

Marshtomp would be better against his Pokemon then Breloom since fighting type moves weren't super effective against it like ground moves were.

"Come on, Marshtomp," I whispered to my Poké Ball. "You can do this. I believe in you." With a nod of determination, I released my Pokémon.

Marshtomp appeared with a loud cry, and struck a fighting pose. I could see Wattson tense up, and I grinned. I had found his weakness. Ground-types.

Gym Leaders weren't allowed to change Pokémon so he knew he lost this battle.

" Marshtomp, use Mud Shot!"

"I'm not going to go down without a fight!" Wattson said cheerfully. "Voltorb, Rollout!"

A powerful blast of mud hit Voltorb in the face. Had this not been a Gym battle, I would have laughed at how comical it was.

Voltorb tried to counterattack with Rollout, which fortunately didn't do much damage. Wattson was sweating by now; even though the smile never left his face, I could tell that he was regretting underestimating me.

"Let's finish it off, Marshtomp," I yelled. "Mud Shot, let's go!"

Marshtomp shot another volley of mud, while Voltorb launched into its second turn of Rollout.

How a small ball like it could take so much ground damage was beyond me.

"Again!" I yelled.

Before Voltorb could begin its third round of Rollout (each one doing more damage than the last), Marshtomp's Mud Shot hit it hard, causing it to faint. Wattson sighed in resignation.

"Alright," he said. "Return, Voltorb. Great work. Well, May," he addressed me, "looks like you're stronger than you look. You leave me no choice. Magneton, go!"

Wattson released his Magneton, which was basically three Magnemite sticking together and calling themselves a new Pokémon. It certainly didn't look intimidating.

But if I remember following my father around it knows Levitate so ground type moves were useless.

I thought hard about what to do. I COULD try and keep using Marshtomp, since electricity wouldn't affect it much, but that would make this battle a lot longer that it should've been. Think, May, think! What should I do now?

Then I remembered. I still had my Breloom, even though it was paralyzed. During the first turn, in which Magneton used Magnet Bomb on Marshtomp, I used a Paralyze Heal on Breloom.

Before Magneton could use Magnet Bomb again, I released Breloom back on the field.

" Breloom jump before Magneton hits you with Magnet Bomb!"

Breloom gracefully jumped in the air, missing the attack by a long shot. Wattson groaned loudly.

"Magneton, let's try again!" he said. Magneton readied itself for another Magnet Bomb.

"Breloom, Mach Punch!" I screamed.

Paralysis didn't stop Breloom from punching Magnetron in its upper head.

"Good work, Breloom," I said. "Let's try it again, shall we? Mach Punch!"

"Volt Switch!" Wattson cried. Breloom hit Magneton hard before it returned back to Wattson, sending out Magnemite instead.

"We're going to take them both down the same way, Breloom," I yelled. "Mach Punch!"

This time though paralysis stopped Breloom from throwing a Mach Punch at Magnemite.

"Breloom, you okay in there?" I asked. Breloom nodded stiffly. I could tell that it was in pain, and I didn't want to exert it any further than I should.

I pulled out another Paralyze Heal from my bag and quickly sprayed it on my Pokémon. "This should do the trick," I said.

Although Breloom had to skip a turn and endure Magnemite's annoying Volt Switch again (during with Magneton was sent out), it persisted. When it finally got its mobility back, it grinned at me proudly and punched the air.

"Your Pokémon's a tough one, alright," Wattson said. "But so are mine! Magneton, use Magnet Bomb!"

A move entirely steel type was shot out of Magneton ready to explode at Breloom.

"Mach Punch!" I yelled. I knew that I was spamming Mach Punch, but I didn't care. It was the fastest way to end the battle.

With lightning speed, Breloom jumped up to Magneton and punched in. Hard.

My eyes widened as Magneton's HP decreased considerably, and kept decreasing until it was zero.

Critical Hit?

"Yes!" I screamed, jumping up and down. "Great work, Breloom! We defeated Magneton!"

Wattson sighed and shook his head. "I still have one more Pokémon left, you know. Magnemite, go!"

I wasn't afraid of Magnemite. It couldn't hold a candle to the power Breloom has.

"Okay, Breloom," I whispered. "It's already at low health, we just need to finish it off. Are you with me?"

"Breloom!" Breloom nodded with determination.

"Ready?" I said. "Mach Punch, let's go!"

Yeah, I really needed to teach Breloom some new Fighting-type moves.

It didn't matter right now because Breloom punched Magnemite and it fainted.

"We did it! We won! Yay, Breloom, you did so well!" I jumped in the air and hugged my Pokémon. Unfortunately, Breloom's Effect Spore hit me, and I began to get drowsy.

"Wahahaha!" Wattson laughed loudly, his belly heaving. "Looks like I lost! Great work, kid. Here," he placed a shiny blue and gold pin in my palm. "That's the Dynamo Badge. Oh, and you can have this too!" He gave me a TM, this one for Volt Switch.

"Mmm," I said sleepily. "'So nice of you, Wattson. Thanks."

"I swell with optimism, seeing a promising young trainer like you!" he said.

"That's nice," I said, with my eyes closed. "G'night..."

"Wait, what?"

Wattson watched with his mouth open as I fell asleep on the floor of the Gym.

Time skip

A few days later, I was in Vedanturf Town, standing outside Wally's house. Since his uncle had invited me over for lunch, I couldn't refuse (no matter how much I wanted to).

"Ah, May!" Wally's Uncle opened the door and greeted me. "Come in, come in! Everyone is looking forward to meeting you!"

I would have to say I was looking forward to meeting everyone in this house to.

"Thank you for having me over," I said with a small bow. I handed him the basket of berries I'd brought with me. Truth be told, I'd rather be training to kick Brendan's ass than having lunch with the Green Hair family, but they were still kind enough to invite me over. And despite how difficult I was (which was a lot), I never forgot my manners around old people.

"Have a seat," he said, guiding me to the couch in the small living room. "And some lemonade." He handed me a glass, which I accepted.

"I'd like you to meet my family. This is my wife," he said, introducing me to Wally's aunt. "This is my daughter, Wanda. This is her boyfriend, Riley. And, of course, you know Wally!"

I bowed at everyone around me, except for Wally. "It's a pleasure to meet you all."

"Everyone, this is May," Wally's Uncle said happily. "She's going to be Wally's future wife!"

Unfortunately I had chosen that very moment to take a sip of lemonade. I spat it out in shock.

"WHAT?" I said loudly.

My surprise shock didn't seem to stop their pretensions of me marrying Wally.

Uncle Green Hair blinked at me innocently.

"I don't see what the big deal is," he said. "You like Wally, don't you?"

"NO!" I yelped. "I mean, yeah, he's a sweet guy and all, but -"

Everyone went "awww" at the same time. However, Wally and I turned scarlet.

"See?" Uncle Green Hair said. "I told you they were perfect for each other!"

Okay, this was getting ridiculous. But before I could open my mouth and give them a piece of my mind, Wally spoke up.

"Excuse me," he mumbled, and rushed out of the house.

I felt bad for Wally now. Hearing his uncle talk about a thing that was clearly idiotic must have been upsetting for him.

"I should go talk to him," I mumbled, itching to get out of that house and away from all the crazy people.

I made my way outside, keeping my eyes peeled for Wally. It was really hot in Vedanturf Town, but the air was fresh and clean. Something about this place was so peaceful and tranquil that I felt like I was back in Littleroot.

I could see why Wally lived here. He clearly had a medical condition, and he probably lived with his relatives in the hopes that the clean air would improve his health. And he obviously had a lot of other problems too, such as dealing with his family and having Brendan for a friend.

Poor guy. I felt really bad for him.

Just then, I spotted a mop of green hair outside the Rusturf Tunnel. Wally was sitting outside it, with his back leaning against the wall and his arms circling his knees. I walked over to him. He either didn't notice me or chose to ignore me, because he was silent as I sat next to him.

"Hey," I whispered.

" My family don't know anything about me and are completely driven mad by hormones." Wally said.

"What do you mean?" I asked. I didn't want to pry, but I felt that getting him to talk about it would be a lot better than sitting here in silence.

He sighed loudly. "I've always been sick. I've had this condition for as long as I could remember. I couldn't play with the other kids when I was little because I was too frail to go outside."

I nodded at him, urging him to go on.

"Everyone always had Pokémon with them," he continued, drawing circles in the dirt with his finger. "I grew up watching everyone have fun with their Pokémon, and I so badly wanted one for myself. So when I was old enough, I went to Norman and told him that I wanted a Pokémon."

"Who's Norman?" I asked.

" The Gym Leader who lives very close to me. He's Brendan's dad and is a very nice man."

"Wait," I said slowly. I could feel the dots finally connecting in my brain. "Brendan's dad...is a Gym Leader?"

"Yeah," Wally stopped drawing in the dirt to look up at me. "You didn't know this?"

"I, uh..." I was silent for a moment. Finally, I shook my head, saying. "No, it doesn't matter. Go on."

"Anyway," Wally continued, adding features to his drawing. "Norman asked Brendan to help me catch a Pokémon. That's how we met."

"Huh," I said.

"It's...all thanks to Brendan that I'm here so far," he continued, a faraway look in his eyes. "I was just a weak little boy who'd never been outside. But Brendan...he showed me what is was like to be with Pokémon and love them. To put your faith in them and battle, both of you growing strong together. I have two Gym Badges so far, and I couldn't be happier. I owe it all to him."

All Brendan ever showed me was I could be a loser or I could be the Pokemon Champion and it was all because of him.

"I feel like we're talking about two different people here," I joked. "Ï mean, the Brendan you know is really nothing like the Brendan I know - an inconsiderate jerk who's so full of himself and always makes fun of me..."

Wally sighed. "Yeah. From what I could tell, he feels the same way about you. But I dunno, now that I know you and battled you, you seem like a really cool person. I feel that you two just got off on the wrong foot, and you need another chance to know each other better."

I was quiet. There wasn't anything wrong with what he was saying, but the question was, did I WANT to get to know Brendan better? Did I want to give him that chance?

"Anyway," he continued, looking up at me. "I'm sorry about my family. They can be overbearing at times, but they don't mean harm. I know that they love me and just want me to make new friends. I hope they didn't annoy you too much."

" No, no...if I'm annoyed with someone it's because I say something to them and they act like a brick wall or they just don't think I'm smart enough to understand what their saying."

"I understand," he nodded. "Sometimes it feels like no matter how much I tell them to stop, my family doesn't listen to me. And then they say that they're only doing what's best for me."

I patted his hand. "You're a good kid, Wally. As long as you work hard and have your Pokémon by your side, you'll be okay. You're a strong Trainer - I know you're going to make us all proud someday."

Wally smiled at me shyly. "Thanks, May. And although I hate my family trying to set me up with every girl they see...I don't mind if it's with you."

Woah. Hold up. This was going into dangerous territory. I stood up. "We should get back," I said, trying to change the topic as quickly as possible.

"Yeah, you're right," Wally rose to his feet, dusting dirt off his butt. "Let's go."

As I walked back to the house, I couldn't help thinking about Brendan. Was he really as nice as Wally said he was? Maybe the reason he was so insufferable wasn't completely his fault - maybe I was to blame, too.

Whatever it was, I would have to see for myself the next time I saw him.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon

 **Continuing this story makes me happy I just decided to ask people for help especially Lyra Sprinkles you all know as the coauthor of this story and the one who helps me it as fun to read as it is. I sold my Pokemon Omega Ruby and Pokemon Sun for one hundred dollars store credit but I'll remember them for all time.**

* * *

 **Brendan's POV**

I wiped the sweat off my brow as I made my way through Meteor Falls. Professor Cozmo had better be in here somewhere. The problem I was having was I think I finally ran into the bad guys May was talking about.

I had heard that the Professor had been kidnapped by an evil environmentalist group and I had a feeling that they were the ones she had been referring to. If that was the case, I would have to see for myself if they were as bad as she said they were.

I ran deeper into the cave, looking for signs that the Professor had been here. I didn't want to call out to him, since it might disturb the wild Pokémon, so I had to be on my guard for him.

Just then, I heard voices coming from a distance. I quickly made my way in that direction, and saw an old scientist guy talking to a fat man and a girl, both dressed in hooded red outfits.

It was creepy how I had no control over my own body sometimes. It was like I was in a video game cutscene.

The closer I got to the three, the clearer it became to me that the guy WAS Professor Cozmo, and the other two were evil.

"Hey!" I yelled, running towards them with my Poké Ball out. "Let him go, you bozos!"

"Bozos, you say?" The fat man turned towards me, a wicked grin on his face. "Is it your intention to oppose me, a Team Magma Admin? Don't forget, there are two of us and only one of you."

Team Magma? Didn't May say that the evil guys were called Team Aqua?

"That's not a problem!" I said, gritting my teeth in anger. "I can take on both of you if I have to!"

" Go Koffing."

" Lets show him Team Magma's burning power Numel."

Koffing and Numel? This was going to be child's play for me. "Mawile! Pelipper! Let's go!" I released both my Pokémon out at the same time.

I had participated in Double Battles plenty of times before, but never in one as important as this. I could see Professor Cozmo looking up at me fearfully. If I screwed this up, both of us were in danger.

I kind of wished right then that May was beside me, helping out with a Marshtomp...

Wait. What was wrong with me? Was I seriously wishing for May to battle alongside me? Man. Koffing's fumes were getting to my head.

"Pelipper, use Water Pulse on Numel!" I said. "Mawile, Crunch on Koffing!"

Pelipper hit Numel dealing huge amounts of damage while Mawile tried to hurt Koffing but Dark moves aren't very effective against poison types.

"Oh, you're tough, kid, I'll give you that," the fat man laughed. "But if you thought you could beat me, Magma Admin Tabitha, you were dead wrong."

"Tabitha?" I scoffed. "Isn't that a girl's name?"

The man's face turned purple with anger. "I'll teach you to make fun of my name! Numel, use Flame Burst!"

"You don't know what you're dealing with, you little punk," the woman said angrily. "Koffing, Self-Destruct!"

Self-Destruct?!

Koffing's whole body turned bright red as steam came out of it before the Pokémon exploded sending damage to Pelliper and Mawile. Mawile was okay, since it was a Steel-type, but Pelipper wasn't so lucky. I watched in horror as Pelipper's HP dropped steadily to zero.

"No..." I whispered slowly. We were barely two turns in, and although Pelipper had dealt huge damage to Numel, it didn't deserve to go out like this. Anger clouded my mind.

"That was a dirty move!" I yelled. "Congratulations, you've just made me angry! And trust me, you're not going to like it when I'm angry! Combusken, go!"

Combusken roared loudly and flexed its arms.

"We're going to get revenge for Pelipper!" I screamed. "Double Kick that Numel!"

Combusken jumped high in the air before landing on top of Numel and kicking it with its large chicken feet.

Numel wobbled for a bit, before collapsing on the ground with a thud. Tabitha growled in anger.

"You just got lucky, punk!" he said. "My next Pokémon won't take it easy on you! Mightyena, show him who's boss!"

Tabitha released a large, ferocious-looking Mightyena, who stomped on the ground angrily.

"Mightyena?" I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "Isn't that a Dark-type? And you want it to go against Combusken? How did you become Admin with tactics like those, Tabby?"

Tabitha was practically boiling with anger by now. "You're pissing me off, kid!" he roared. "Mightyena, Swagger!"

Mighyena unleashed a move that caused Combusken to become confused with the chance of hurting itself high.

"Combusken, you okay" I asked, worried.

Combusken didn't reply. Instead, it wobbled about, its head spinning.

"Combusken, we have to beat them! Use Double Kick!" I ordered.

Instead of kicking Numel, Combusken somehow kicked a rock. It would have been funny if not for the fact that it lost precious Hit Points.

" While his Pokémon is confused use Bite on it Mightyena."

"Combusken, snap out of it!" I cried. Confused Pokémon were the worst.

"Double Kick!" I said again, and crossed my fingers behind my back praying for it to work. Thankfully, Combusken focused on Mightyena and delivered two solid, HP-lowering kicks.

"Good work!" I cheered. "Another hit and we win! Keep going, Combusken!"

Combusken used Double Kick at the same time Tabitha ordered her Mightyena to use Crunch.

As the rule went, the faster Pokémon attacked first. Unfortunately, it was Mightyena who moved first, delivering damage to Combusken. But fortunately, Fighting-types were resistant to Dark-type moves, and Tabby's tactics were stupid, so Crunch didn't do much damage.

Combusken finally snapped out of confusion and kicked Mightyena twice. The resounding blows caused the Pokémon to faint.

"We...did it?" I whispered, unable to believe myself. Oh, who was I kidding? Of course I did it. I was Brendan, after all!

"Good job, Combusken!" I said, high-fiving my Pokémon. "And take that, you fat loser!" I pointed at Tabitha.

Tabitha Brendan expected to shout " We'll get you next time!" or " You haven't beaten us yet!" but how he responded was crying tears down his eyelids.

"Dude. That's gross," I said, watching fat tears roll down Tabitha's face. "Cut it out."

"Stay out of my way, brat!" he snarled. "Team Magma's scientific prowess, Mt Chimney's energy and the hidden power of the meteorite...if we combine them all, a super-ancient Pokémon-"

He was interrupted mid-tirade by the loud sound of laughter.

"Bwahahaha!" The cruel, evil laughter rang through the cave. "You lost to this scamp? What a pathetic bunch! You lazy stooges will be the downfall of Team Magma!"

Tabitha's face turned pale. "Huh?" he whispered. "Even Team Aqua is making an appearance?"

So this was Team Aqua I heard so much about from May. He was ready to take them down...after he healed his Pokémon because that last battle took a toll on their health.

"The main character always comes in last." From behind Tabitha, a man appeared, dressed in a blue pirate outfit and flanked by grunts on both sides. "You," he turned towards the Professor, "I'll have that meteorite now."

"Where do you two get off, threatening people like that?" I yelled.

The two men ignored me. "Fat chance," Tabitha said (which was ironic because, you know), "Take it from him!" he ordered the grunt beside him.

"Team Magma finally possesses the power of the meteorite," he said, turning to me. "We'll be off now. Get in our way now, and it won't be so pretty next time." Tabitha and the grunt disappeared out of the cave.

That was a lot of whack. Not only did I not get the meteorite but I didn't get to battle a Team Aqua member.

On the bright side, I did manage to save the Professor. That was a start.

"Archie!" One of the grunts said loudly. "They're heading to Mt Chimney! We have to go after them!"

The pirate nodded. "You're right," he said. "We can't let them get away."

Archie and his grunts made their way out of the cave, but stopped before me.

" You're not leaving anywhere until I get the chance to battle you, big guy. May thinks I can't help her put a stop to your bandit group but I can do it right here and right now."

"May?" Archie frowned. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "May, May, May...oh! May! The twerp! So you two are friends. Figures."

"We're not-" I began to correct him, but stopped myself in time. I had more important things to worry about at the moment. "Let's battle right now."

He snorted derisively. "The two of you are so alike it makes me laugh. Like I explained to your little friend, I don't waste my time battling brats like you. Prove yourself first before you even think about challenging me." He walked out of the cave, leaving both me and the Professor behind.

That was just insulting. Looking down on me because I was a kid. I'll show him he shouldn't keep his nose up when I come from behind and defeat him.

I turned to the Professor. He still looked pretty freaked out by everything that had happened, not to mention the loss of his precious meteorite. "Professor," I said. "I'm getting you back to your lab in Fallarbor Town. Let's get out of here."

And then I'm going to Mt Chimney to take care of those jerks myself.

* * *

Hours later, I was riding the cable car to Mt Chimney.

When I got up there I ran out of the building to find members of that team everywhere.

It was horrible. Team Magma and Team Aqua members were all over the place, battling it out on the mountain. While ash continued to fall over the area, the sounds of their Pokémon battling it out and their cries of anger were disrupting the region. The situation was worse than I thought.

May was right. May was so right about everything.

I ran up the mountain, zipping past the grunts who ignored me. For some reason, they were all using Poochyena to battle. All of them.

That explained why they were still grunts.

I saw Archie curbstomp a whole group of Team Magma grunts, and I winced. Looks like I dodged a bullet there.

Archie noticed me. Instead of sending out a Pokémon to battle me he pointed to a high point of Mt Chimney.

I nodded at him and made my way up. I didn't like that I was taking help from a terrorist like him, so I swallowed my pride and walked in the direction he pointed to.

From what I had gathered so far (or rather, from what I had learnt from Professor Cozmo and May) both Team Magma and Team Aqua were eco-terrorist organizations based in Hoenn. While Team Aqua wanted to expand the ocean, Team Magma wanted the same for land. With the clashing ideologies, it was only a matter of time before they began a full-scale war in the region.

I came across plenty of Team Magma grunts along the way, and I beat them all quickly in my rush to get to the bottom of the situation. Finally, I saw Tabitha standing over a glass platform-thingy, looking down at the lava.

Tabitha heard my footsteps and turned towards me, scowling.

"Ugh. You again?" he said. "I can't believe you followed us all the way up here!" He kicked the platform in anger. "You're really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, realllly an obnoxious child, aren't you?"

I raised my eyebrow. "That's a lot of reallys."

Tabitha gritted his teeth in anger. "I will...crush you!"

This sounded like a Pokémon battle about to take place and I obliged my opponent by releasing Combusken.

"Koffing, go!" Tabitha said.

A Koffing, huh? I had beaten plenty of them to know how to take this one down.

"Combusken, let's 'kick' things off, shall we?" I said. "Use Double Kick!"

Combusken spun around and kicked Koffing twice, none of the kicks doing much damage.

Tabitha looked at me like I was retarded. "You're a lot stupider than I thought you were," he said. "That wasn't very effective."

"Oh, I know that," I grinned. "I just wanted an excuse to say that line."

Tabitha rolled his eyes. "Koffing, use Sludge!"

Koffing bloated from the inside with toxic gas spewing from its body. Then once it was bloated enough it hosed Combusken with purple sludge. That Koffing was going to pay for covering my Combusken in rotten garbage.

"You're disgusting," I spat. "Combusken, Flame Charge!"

Combusken covered itself with flames, extinguishing the poisonous sludge, and slammed into Koffing. Koffing's health decreased considerably.

Tabitha gritted his teeth. "You're pissing me off again," he warned. "Well, no matter. I'm going to end this by taking your strongest Pokémon out of the battle! Koffing, use Self-Destruct!"

Koffing's whole body turned red all over before it finally blew into one big explosion Combusken was caught in the middle of. Like Tabitha wanted my Pokémon fainted.

"COMBUSKEN! NOT AGAIN!" I screamed. I was about to step into the cloud of noxious gas to find my Pokémon, but I managed to calm myself down. Screw Team Magma. Screw Tabitha. I was going to kill him for this.

The smoke cleared, and the first thing I saw was Combusken...miraculously still standing. Sure, it was bruised and beaten up and it barely had any HP left, but it had somehow managed to not faint. On the other hand, Koffing had collapsed from the explosion, incurring Tabby's wrath.

"Combusken, you did it!" I screamed happily. "You defeated Koffing!" I wanted to go hug it, but Combusken pushed me back, since it was still covered in toxins. "You've earned a well-deserved rest," I said. "Return."

"WHAT THE JIGGLYPUFF?" Tabitha screamed. "How did you survive that?!"

"Sheer willpower, my friend," I replied, "Is what I would say, but we're not friends. Anyway, screw you for sacrificing your own Pokémon. That was a horrible thing to do!"

"Oh, please," he rolled his eyes, "It's not like it matters. Pokémon are just tools, nothing more. Now I'm going to teach you a lesson you'll never forget. Numel, go!"

I tried my best not to roll my eyes. So Tabitha had a Numel. Just like every other grunt in Team Magma. Did he seriously not realize how much of a loser he was?

"Yeah, not happening," I said. "Not if my Pelipper has anything to say about it!" I released my Pokémon.

Numel quivered at the majestic flying Pokémon with the big yellow beak and the blue head gazing down at it.

"Note to self," Tabitha muttered under his breath. "Incorporate more type coverage into team."

"Let's begin with Water Pulse, Pelipper!" I said.

"Use Amnesia, Numel," Tabitha said.

Since he chose not to attack me in his first move, Pelipper got a chance to do some heavy damage to Numel. I could see Tabitha's brows crossed in resignation. Yeah. There was no way he was winning this.

"Give it up, Tabby," I sneered. "One more move and you're finished!"

"Ugh," Tabitha groaned.

For once it seemed Tabitha was thinking about the safety of his Pokémon more than just winning in the name of Team Magma. Maybe the Team Magma Admin was finally growing a heart?

"If this is my last turn," Tabitha said, breathing in deeply. "Then I'll try to take you down with everything I've got! Numel, use Lava Plume!"

"Use Water Pulse, Pelipper!" I yelled.

There was a loud sound of an explosion as lava exploded from Numel's back and collided with Pelipper's attack. When the smoke cleared, Numel had fainted on the ground and Pelipper was still flying proudly.

"Yes!" I cheered loudly. "We did it! We won!" As if there was ever any doubt.

Tabitha lost two battles without knocking out a single one of my Pokémon. Seriously, how did this guy ever get promoted to Admin?

Tabitha recalled his Pokémon quietly, and turned around to face the lava with his back towards me. At first I thought he was too upset to talk to me (or that he was crying) but he suddenly spoke up.

"I expected you to defeat me, you know," he said.

"You did?" I said in surprise. Pelipper landed on my arm and nuzzled against me.

"Yes," he said quietly. He turned around, a wicked grin plastered on his face. "It doesn't matter, though! The meteorite we got from Professor Whoever is already in our boss's hands! And if I couldn't defeat you, he definitely will! Proceed, if you wish!" He moved to the side, motioning me to go forward.

I quickly healed up my Pokémon, anticipating a battle, and walked across the glass bridge-thingy.

When I got to the end of it, I immediately noticed two things.

The first was a large, circular machine encasing the meteorite, which glowed in the middle. Tubes were attached to the side, and they seemed to be absorbing energy from the stone.

The second was a redheaded nerdy-looking man, who was studying the meteorite closely. He didn't seem to notice me walk up to him.

"The power contained in the meteorite," he murmured, "If we merge the explosive energy contained in the planet's core with the meteorite's power..."

He stopped when he realized that he had an audience.

He turned around, looking surprised to see me there. "Who are you?" he asked softly.

"I'm the guy who's gonna bring you and your land-kissing freakshow down!" I replied, my hand still tightly gripped around my Poké Ball. "You're the boss of Team Magma, aren't you?"

He adjusted his glasses, looking slightly irritated. "I prefer Leader," he said stiffly. "As for you," he tilted his head to the side, "you're not the same child who defied Archie at the Oceanic Museum, are you? I was under the impression that you were a girl."

Normally, I would have flipped him off for mistaking me for her. However, for some reason his comments didn't bother me. In fact, I actually felt a little proud that he was comparing me to May, who had bravely stood up to Team Aqua by herself.

What was happening to me? Whatever was happening to me I at least knew this man was my enemy and he was going to lose to me.

"You're right, I'm not the same kid," I said coldly. "But you can bet that the two of us are going to do everything in our power to defeat Team Magma and Team Aqua. I don't know what your plans are, but I can't let you win!"

The man blinked in surprise. "You show a lot of promise, for someone so young. Fine. I will attempt to educate you. Team Magma attempts to expand the available landmass with the power of an ancient legendary Pokémon. While it currently slumbers, having lost its power, if we create the right conditions, we should be able to alter this meteorite's qualities into that of a Mega Stone...even a Key Stone..."

I gritted my teeth, trying to digest what I'd just heard.

"You...you're sick," I whispered.

" Sick? Is it sick to have Pokémon old as time itself walk this region again or see them in the depths of the sea?"

I swallowed hard, resisting the urge to push him into the lava. "I...I need an adult."

The man adjusted his glasses. He did that often, I noticed. "I'm not quite sure what you meant by that, but in case you haven't noticed, I AM an adult. Anyway, enough of chit-chatting. The time for the purge has come. I will bury you with my own hand. I hope you appreciate this honor."

Shivers ran through my spine at his words, and I gulped. What had I gotten myself into?

But no. I couldn't back down. I couldn't let these crazies win. I would rather go down trying than give up.

"Mightyena," he said simply. He threw his Poké Ball in the air and a large, black Mightyena leapt out and snarled at me.

I nodded firmly. "Combusken, let's do this." I released my own Pokémon.

Combusken appeared claws crossed before showcasing its fiery spirit and flames kicking and moving its arms midair. Good for Combusken, show him your one tough Pokémon.

However, I noticed Combusken cowering before Mightyena's terrifying growl. That damned Pokémon! It was Intimidating Combusken and lowering its attack!

"Don't be afraid, Combusken, you can do this!" I said sharply. "Use Double Kick!"

"Swagger," the man said simply. Mightyena growled at Combusken again. Instead of being afraid, Combusken was enraged. It charged blindly towards Mightyena and tried to hit it.

"Combusken, no!" I pleaded. "Mightyena is just confusing you! Snap out of it! Use Double Kick!"

"Assurance," the nerd said. Combusken, blinded by rage, charged towards Mightyena again. Mightyena simply moved to the side, and Combusken hurt itself.

Mightyena then moved forward to hit Combusken. Since it used Assurance, the damage was higher than it normally should have been.

I watched Combusken's health decrease slowly, until it was dangerously yellow.

"I appear to have overestimated you," the man said, sounding bored. "You may have mastered the art of trash talk, but you don't seem to have the skills to back it up."

I ignored him, and pleaded with Combusken instead. "Combusken, please..."

Just then fire roared in Combusken's eyes. It now wasn't confused anymore and was ready to hurt Mightyena.

"THAT'S IT!" I yelled. "That's the spirit, Combusken. Double Kick that sucker! You can do it!"

Combusken roared loudly and charged towards Mightyena, delivering two kicks to its side.

"Mightyena!" The man said sharply. "This kind of performance is unacceptable! Use Snarl!"

Mightyena tried to Snarl at Combusken, but it didn't do much damage to Combusken, who was already fired up.

"Combusken! Double Kick AGAIN!" I said triumphantly.

Combusken screeched loudly and charged at Mightyena, a raging ball of fire. I watched Mightyena crumble to the ground, defeated.

It was a victory well won but it also made Combusken pant heavily from all the energy it used to beat that nerds Mightyena.

"Combusken, great work," I said, recalling my Pokémon. "Rest up, now."

"Return," the man said coldly, and I watched the fainted Mightyena disappear into its Poké Ball. "Well. It seems you're not all talk after all. However, I can assure you that not all of my Pokémon are disappointments like Mightyena. Golbat,"

He released a Golbat, which snarled at me menacingly and took a lap over us. I tried to think of what Pokémon I wanted to use next. Combusken was in no fit state to fight, that too against a Flying-type, and I didn't want Golbat to poison Pelipper. Which meant that...

"Mawile! It's your turn!" I released my Mawile, which turned around and bared its jaws at Golbat.

"Well," he said, looking startled. "I'm impressed. You actually seem to be holding your own against me. Confuse Ray,"

I slammed my palm against my face as the man confused yet another one of my Pokémon.

Like Combusken Mawile moved its hand trying to attack Pokémon that just weren't there.

"Mawile, not you too!" I groaned loudly.

I'm not going to lie, I was seriously starting to get worried at this point. Although I had beaten one of his Pokémon, and was by no means a noob when it came to battles, I was scared that I was going to lose. I had battled other Trainer and Gym Leaders before, but it was never as stressful as this, because the FATE OF THE WORLD DID NOT DEPEND ON THOSE BATTLES.

Suddenly, I had an idea. I quickly rummaged into my bag, and retrieved a Persim Berry, which I threw at my Pokémon. "Mawile, catch!"

Mawile swallowed the Berry, and immediately snapped out of confusion. It squealed happily.

"Hm," said Maxie. I had no idea what he meant by that, but I didn't have time to think about it. I had to finish this off quickly.

"Iron Head!" I yelled. Mawile shut its jaws and slammed into Golbat with a loud BONK.

"Weak." The man scorned, clearly displeased with his Pokemon's performance. "Magma Leader Maxie does not accept anything less than brilliance from his Pokémon. Golbat, use Air Cutter, and try not to be a disappointment in this turn, too."

I felt sorry for Golbat. "You...you shouldn't talk to your Pokémon like that," I said, while simultaneously ordering Mawile to use Iron Head again. I knew that Mawile was part Fairy, which gave it a disadvantage to Golbat's Poison, so I was trying to use Steel moves as much as possible.

Maxie's expression did not change. "All of my Pokémon are aware of the consequences of their loss. If they lose to you, and subsequently anyone else, humanity would continue to abuse the land they live on and destroy it eventually."

Woah. Talk about intense.

Mawile finally defeated Golbat, who crumpled on the ground with a weak cry.

"Well," he said slowly. "I was hoping it wouldn't come down to this. Camerupt."

Maxie released his final Pokémon, Camerupt. It landed on the ground with a heavy thud and snorted loudly.

"I probably shouldn't say this," Maxie said, "But for some reason I find myself developing a sense of respect for you. You are indeed a worthy opponent, I'll give you that."

I didn't know whether I should thank him or feel insulted that he underestimated me. "Pelipper, let's finish him off."

I released Pelipper, who flew into the air and cawed loudly.

Yeah, right. Both Pelipper and I knew that Pelipper was faster, a fact that was immediately proved when Pelipper Water Pulsed Camerupt before it could even move a muscle.

"Great "work, Pelipper!" I cheered. "Keep going! It's Fire-Ground, so we should be able to finish it off quick!"

"CAMERUPT, YOU USELESS SON OF A -" Maxie began to scream, but immediately stopped. "Ahem. Sorry about that. I almost lost my composure there for a minute."

Almost?

"Pelipper," I said triumphantly. "Let's finish this off with one last Water Pulse."

Pelliper's mouth was filled to the brink with a spiraling blue ball ready to fire at Camerupt.

And then it was over. Before I knew it, Camerupt was falling to the ground and Pelipper was cawing with pride.

"We did it!" I said. "Great job, Pelipper! Rest up now. You've earned it." I returned it to its Poké Ball.

Maxie recalled his own Pokémon and turned to face me.

"So you've managed to repulse the great Maxie in battle," he said. He was shaking slightly, and I could tell that he was really angry and trying to hide it. "Well, if you thought you were victorious, you would be mistaken. Once you've tasted my Pokémon's Mega Evolved power, you will say goodbye to your last shred of hope."

Mega Evolved? What was he talking about?

Maxie was suddenly interrupted by the sound of his PokéNav Plus ringing.

"Hm?" he said, speaking to the person on the other end. "Did you say...Mt Pyre?"

"Understood," he continued, after a short pause. "I'll be there." He cut off the call and turned to me. "Well, it seems that my attention has been demanded elsewhere. I'm afraid I have to leave now. Do what you like with the meteorite." He studied me up and down, and his expression hardened. "And I will not forget the face of the Trainer who thwarted me in battle. Keep that in mind." He walked away, leaving me by the device.

Why did those last few words send a chill down my spine?

I extracted the meteorite from the device, my mind still muddled with questions. What was Mt Pyre? What was Maxie planning to do there? What did he mean by Mega Evolved?

I walked down the glass bridge, still thinking. But my path was immediately blocked by a familiar group of people.

"Well, if it ain't the little scamp," Archie said, flanked by his grunts again. Ï can't believe I missed Maxie again! And he even left behind that meteorite he was so obsessed with. Could it be...did he find out where the real orbs are hidden?"

"Dude," I said, trying not to roll my eyes. "English, please."

Archie just shook his head and walked away, followed by the grunts.

Although I was happy that I won, I couldn't stop thinking about...everything. So many things made sense now, and it looked like the situation was worse than I thought. May and I were caught between a stupid and extremely dangerous environmental war, between the land and the ocean, that could potentially destroy Hoenn. I now understood why she was so intense. Why she called me out for sitting on my ass about it. What an idiot I was.

One thing was for sure: now that I knew about Team Magma and Team Aqua, nothing was going to stop me and my Pokémon from taking them down.

I made my way down the mountain, thinking about the next time I was going to see May. We had a LOT to talk about.


End file.
